Inhalation treatments for those with respiratory problems such as asthma or COPD generally involve the patient inhaling a medicated aerosol. This can be provided by a pressurized canister which atomizes and disburses the liquid medicine or by a nebulizer that atomizes the liquid medicine and allows it to separate and rise from the container of medicine. The atomization may occur through a variety of processes. The pressurized canister is generally used for quick, short bursts of medicine propelled into the lungs and is commonly known as a “metered dose inhaler”, “rescue inhaler” or “puffer.” The nebulizer is generally directed at longer respiratory treatments of 4-7 minutes in duration, and produces a slow moving aerosol plume that can be inhaled.
Of lately, while handy, the rescue inhalers have come under severe scrutiny for the non atmosphere friendly propellants that they employ. Changing the propellants from the traditional chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) to hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) a more atmosphere friendly gas, has dramatically driven up their cost. Many of the medical insurance companies will no longer cover the full cost of a rescue inhaler when they can be replaced by a nebulizer. For this reason nebulizers are now the aerosol delivery system of choice among medical providers.
However, nebulizers alone present problems as the efficiency varies widely from manufacture to manufacturer and have to be used with a holding chamber. The holding chamber is a vessel that allows the accumulation the aerosol plume and the subsequent release of this accumulation by the patient's inhalation. It helps ensure maximum delivery of medicine to the lower airways, and minimize the amount trapped on the back of the throat. Without a holding chamber to contain the generated aerosol plume, too much of the medicine is lost to the atmosphere. One of the problems with prior art holding chambers is minimizing the aerosol losses through escape and chamber wall condensation. Another problem is the unsanitary collection of the user's saliva within the chamber. However, the primary problem is getting the holding chamber to provide and enhance the percentage of correct sized aerosol particles for delivery.
Henceforth, an improved small volume nebulizer chamber that minimizes the aerosol losses, provides a concentration of the correct sized aerosol particles and aids in maintaining the chamber's sterility, would fulfill a long felt need in the respiratory treatment industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.